The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) announced that it’s added Dota 2 to the list of games to be played at the upcoming Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC). When the competition takes place in November, Dota 2 players will take part in a tournament comprised of 32 national teams. Dota 2 is the third confirmed title to be played at the event, following Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Trackmania.
The Dota 2 tournament will feature the top 16 teams in the Dota 2 National Team Ranking, two teams from Wildcard slots and 14 teams who will qualify through online qualifiers. The qualifiers will take place this summer with double-elimination brackets across eight different regions.
At the ENC, the 32 teams will compete in a group stage, round robin-style, with the top 16 teams moving on to the second stage with a single-elimination playoff bracket. The playoff matches are best-of-three and the grand final between the top 2 teams will be best-of-five.
The EWCF created the ENC with the intention of fostering national competition within the esports scene. As CEO Ralf Reichert said in a statement last year, “Nation versus nation competition is the ultimate expression of sport. The ENC makes this a reality for esports, giving every fan a flag to rally behind and every player the pride of representing their country.”